From second from left, JoAnn Farrell, Elsie Palmieri and Hilda Nichols listen to speakers at Danbury's Aging in Place Planning Council meeting Tuesday at Elmwood Hall, the Danbury senior center. The group met to discuss the impact of the "Silver Tsunami" for state and local communities, May 20, 2014.

Julia Evans Starr, executive director, Connecticut Legislative Commission on Aging addresses a meeting of Danbury's Aging in Place Planning Council, Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at Elmwood Hall, the Danbury senior center. The group met to discuss the impact of the "Silver Tsunami" for state and local communities.

Julia Evans Starr, executive director, Connecticut Legislative Commission on Aging addresses a meeting of Danbury's Aging in Place Planning Council, Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at Elmwood Hall, the Danbury senior center. The group met to discuss the impact of the "Silver Tsunami" for state and local communities.

From second from left, JoAnn Farrell, Elsie Palmieri and Hilda Nichols listen to speakers at Danbury's Aging in Place Planning Council meeting Tuesday at Elmwood Hall, the Danbury senior center. The group met to discuss the impact of the "Silver Tsunami" for state and local communities, May 20, 2014.

From left, Julia Evans Starr, June Renzulli and Susan Tomanio answer questions at Danbury's Aging in Place Planning Council Tuesday at Elmwood Hall, the Danbury senior center. The group invited community leaders to a discussion on the impact of the "Silver Tsunami" for state and local communities, May 20, 2014.

Tomanio kicked off a meeting Tuesday at Elmwood Hall to discuss solutions to aging-in-place issues with community leaders.

"The goal of this meeting is raising awareness," Tomanio said. "We want to get it on the radar. It's a call to action for key players in the community and a chance to share the council's vision with them."

"We don't want you selling your homes and moving to Tennessee and Florida," Boughton said to the group. "We want you stay and be cold with the rest of us."

More Information

Growing olderConnecticut is the seventh-oldest state in the nation for median age.The population of Danbury's seniors age 65 and over will increase by 31.5 percent between 2010 and 2020. Of that increase, 44 percent will be those over age 90.SOURCE: http://www.livablect.org/

Guest speaker Julia Evans Starr, executive director of the Connecticut Legislative Commission on Aging, said that baby boomers represent almost a third of the state's population.

"This demographic shift is a permanent change throughout the state," she said.

Starr spoke about the council's Livable Communities initiative. A livable community is a community with affordable and appropriate housing, infrastructure, community services and transportation options for residents of all ages.

The commission's motto for livable communities, she said, is to make a community "a great place to grow up and grow older."

Rebalancing, another topic Starr spoke about, is the movement to transition nursing home residents back to their communities.

"Two thousand people across the state were transitioned," Starr said. "If they go home and are isolated, it's not as good. It's important to remain socially connected -- keeping people connected, having transportation available."

Starr asked those present to help keep government accountable as nursing home beds are retired, so the money saved from moving patients back home is invested in services to improve the quality of life available to them.

She also announced the launch of the commission's new website, www.livablect.org, which went live Tuesday with information and resources to help communities meet the growing needs highlighted by the silver tsunami.